Gov. John Kitzhaber, who set a record for vetoes in his first two terms, sticks to just one this year

MICHELLE COLE/The OregonianOregon Gov. John Kitzhaber held a brief round-table with reporters Thursday inside the ceremonial office at the state capitol.

SALEM -- Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber set the record in his first two terms for having more than 200 vetoes. But Kitzhaber will veto just one bill out of the 2011 legislative session.

"We've had a one veto session and that was really a technical issue," Kitzhaber said during a meeting with reporters at Oregon's Capitol Thursday.

Last month, the governor vetoed a bill that would have prohibited floral order facilitators from charging a fee on individual floral orders because Kitzhaber believed it violated interstate commerce laws.

Thursday was the deadline for the governor to serve notice if he intended to veto any other bills. But there won't be any other vetoes, he said.

"I do think I did a much better job this time developing front-end relationships," he said.

That wasn't the case during his first two terms, when disgruntled Republicans nicknamed Kitzhaber "Dr. No" because he had vetoed so many of their bills.

So is Dr. No gone for good?

Kitzhaber smiled. "He's still out there when necessary."

View full sizeMichael Lloyd/The OregonianGov. John Kitzhaber will propose legislation to create a board that will oversee all levels of education and control 51 percent of Oregon's general fund.

On other subjects, Kitzhaber said he couldn't really say whether his Democratic Party allowed 1st District Congressman Wu to stay in office too long.

"The congressman obviously had some challenges in his personal life and they sort of came out in pieces," he said, adding that Wu's decision to resign "was the right decision."

Asked whether the federal government's debt ceiling compromise could mean money to rebuild the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River would dry up, Kitzhaber said he doubted that would happen.

"I think we need to assume there's going to be fewer resources," he said. "But Oregon is still fairly well positioned for what resources there are available. This is a project of national significance."